Orchard heater

ABSTRACT

An efficient and economical orchard heater utilizing propane as a fuel is characterized by a slender upright closed top chamber for gaseous fuel having narrow longitudinal sidewall slits through which carburetion and combustion takes place.

United States Patent 431/341X 43l/352X 126/595 126/59.5 126/595 Inventor Dale A. Olsen [56] References Cited Rte 2 BOX 2160, Wapato, Wash. 98951 UNITED STATES PATENTS Q1 3:1 1969 1,222,346 4/1917 Adams f ted Jan {971 3,144,897 8/1964 Biber et al. a 3,409,000 11/1968 Brader et al..

3,421,494 1/1969 Perkins 1 3,470,863 10/1969 Payne FOREIGN PATENTS 1 355,645 8/1961 Switzerland ORCHARD HEATER Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figs. Attorney-B. P. Flshburne, Jr.

US. Cl 126/595,

' 431/350 ABSTRACT: An efficient and economical orchard heater Int. Cl A0lg 13/06; utilizing propane as a fuel is characterized by a slender upright F23d 13/24 closed top chamber for gaseous fuel having narrow longitu- Field of Search 126/595; dinal sidewall slits through which carburetion and combustion 431/341, 342, 352, 350 takes place.

PATENTEU JAN 5 l97| INVENTOR DALE A. OLSEN ATTORNEY I ORCHARD HEATER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention arises as a result of a need for a more efficient and effective orchard heater to protect crops from spring frosts.

While such heaters are broadly known in the art, the known structures have certain limitations which limit their effectiveness to distribute heat over a relatively wide area. The prior art heaters customarily embody an upright open top tubular body and the gaseous fuel is introduced at the lower end of the heater body and carburetion and burning takes place within the tubular body, the resultant heat and combustion products emitting primarily from the top of the body. This arrangement results in concentrating the heat in too small an area to effectively warm the orchard and the only solution is to employ a greater number of heaters throughout the orchard which obviously is not economical.

The above deficiencies of the prior art heaters are overcome in the present invention through the provision of a slender closed top tubular body forming a chamber for the admission of propane at the lower end of the body which does remain open. A series of long vertical burner slits are formed through the sidewall of the body and the gaseous fuel is emitted through these slits and actually burns at the exterior of the tubular body rather than wholly inside of the same. This makes for a much wider distribution of heat uniformly around the tubular body, said slits being circumferentially spaced in an orderly manner.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an orchard heater embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the heater.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through the heater body taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a similar section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals designate like parts, the numeral designates an elongated relatively narrow cylindrical body portion of the heater which is arranged vertically during use and including a closed upper end wall 11 and having an open lower end, as shown. The lower end portion of the body 10 may be slightly reduced in diameter as shown at 12 although this construction is not essential. The heater body 10 may be conveniently formed from surplus shell casings including 81 mm., 90 mm. or 105 mm. casings. This range of sizes will form a heater body of sufficient capacity to be useful and efficient as an orchard heater. The reason for the use of shell casings aside from economy and shape suitability is that the casings are formed of good quality steel. However, if preferred, the heater body 10 may be fabricated in substantially the shape and size indicated from other suitable sheet metal.

As shown, the heater body is supported with its lower end spaced substantially from the ground by preferably three circumferentially equidistantly spaced divergent legs 13 of sturdy rod stock. The upper terminals 14 of these legs may be secured directly by welding to the reduced diameter portion 12.

A very important feature of the invention is the provision in the cylindrical sidewall of the heater body 10 of a series of longitudinal narrow burner slots 15,-or slits, preferably arranged in vertically aligned pairs and with the pairs of slots spaced apart equidistantly around the circumference of the body 10. If desired, a greater number of pairs of the slots 15 may be distributed around the circumference, such as four pairs or even five or six pairs of slots. However, it is felt that the l20 spacing of the slots 15 is adequate for good heat distribution radially of the heater in all directions. Additionally, the slots 15 need not be in vertical pairs, as shown in the drawings, and instead single long slots may be employed or a series of shorter interrupted slots extending lengthwise of the body 10. The arrangement of slots as shown is a preferred arrangement from the standpoint of strength and maximum uniform heat distribution. It will be noted that the narrow slots extend for the major portion of the length of the heater body.

The propane fuel is introduced upwardly at the center of the lower open end of the heater body through an upstanding jet nozzle 16, connected fixedly in a transverse distribution pipe section 17 having extensions 18 on opposite sides of the heater for connection with plastic tubes 19 which distribute fuel to the heaters connected in series throughout the orchard. The tubes or hoses 19 are flexible so that the arrangement and spacing of the heaters may be varied in accordance with particular needs. The pipe section 17 is anchored across the bottom of the heater body 10 through a pair of brackets 20 which may be welded to the interior of the reduced portion 12. The construction is very simple and also very sturdy and the entire heater forms a compact unit which is easy to move around in the orchard and has no loose parts likely to be separated or lost during use. Minor variations in the construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to but the overall configuration will be basically as shown and described.

During use, the fuel is piped to the various heaters connected in series throughout the orchard and jets of propane are introduced upwardly into each tubular body 10 from the nozzle 16. The gaseous fuel will be more or less confined within the body 10 and will begin to escape through the slots 15 uniformly. The fuel may be ignited at the several slots 15 and burning will take place along each slot 15 so long as the fuel is continuously supplied to the jet nozzle of the heater. It may now be understood that a hot flame will exist at each slot 15 and consequently there will be flame along substantially the entire height of the heater at three equally spaced circum' ferential points or at a greater number of points if more than three sets of slots are employed. The heat will be intense and uniformly distributed around the heater and the heat will not tend to escape upwardly and be lost in the atmosphere in a very narrow vertical zone which is the main deficiency of the prior art. Instead, the heat zone will extend radially for substantial distances around the circumference of the heater, enabling the heater to service a considerable area in an orchard. 7

It is believed that the features and advantages of the inven- 'tion will now be apparent to one skilled in the art without the requirement for any further description.

Iclaim:

1. An orchard heater comprising a slender upright hollow cylindrical body portion which has an axial length of about six times the diameter of the body portion, the body portion having a top wall serving to close the top of the body portion and the body portion being open at its lower end, leg means secured to the body portion and supporting the lower end of the body portion spaced above the ground by a distance of at least twice the diameter'of the body portion, the cylindrical sidewall of the body portion provided with plural circumferentially spaced groups of narrow elongated through slots, each group extending lengthwise of the body portion for the major portion of the axial length of the body portion from top to bottom thereof, support bracket means on the lower end of the body portion at diametrically opposite sides thereof, a substantially rigid pipe section secured to the bracket means and extending for a relatively short distance radially of the body portion on opposite sides thereof, said pipe section adapted to have its ends connected with flexible hose sections which convey gaseous fuel to a plurality of orchard heaters connected in series, and an upstanding gaseous fuel nozzle connected in said pipe section at the bottom and substantially at the axial center of the body portion. 

1. An orchard heater comprising a slender upright hollow cylindrical body portion which has an axial length of about six times the diameter of the body portion, the body portion having a top wall serving to close the top of the body portion and the body portion being open at its lower end, leg means secured to the body portion and supporting the lower end of the body portion spaced above the ground by a distance of at least twice the diameter of the body portion, the cylindrical sidewall of tHe body portion provided with plural circumferentially spaced groups of narrow elongated through slots, each group extending lengthwise of the body portion for the major portion of the axial length of the body portion from top to bottom thereof, support bracket means on the lower end of the body portion at diametrically opposite sides thereof, a substantially rigid pipe section secured to the bracket means and extending for a relatively short distance radially of the body portion on opposite sides thereof, said pipe section adapted to have its ends connected with flexible hose sections which convey gaseous fuel to a plurality of orchard heaters connected in series, and an upstanding gaseous fuel nozzle connected in said pipe section at the bottom and substantially at the axial center of the body portion. 